A new tool designed to give Māori land owners, judges, researchers and local government an unprecedented picture of freehold land was officially launched last week.

 

Courts Minister Georgina te Heuheu last week said the system offers a source of information to assist Māori locate their land interests and identify opportunities to improve its management and development.

 

"The launch of the Māori land Geographic Information System (GIS) Project heralds a new dawn in the history of Māori land management and utilisation," she said.

 

The new system will provide accurate geospatial information for Māori land blocks, and be accessible through an internet portal, to allow Māori land owners, and the wider public, to search and download information.

 

The portal provides a much greater range and level of detail than previously available, and can also be viewed in Te Reo Māori.

 

The portal uses technology from Google and data from Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), to provide instant visual pictures and maps of the type and location of land, which can then be used to compile reports.

 

"One of the many benefits is that the system has been future-proofed and designed so that it can be updated as technology advances, allowing the potential to add layers of information in the future," the minister said.